June Lepard - Administrative Assistant
On November 10th, the new Council for the town of Southey met for their first meeting in chambers at the Southey office. To address COVID-19 concerns Council extended their seating arrangements to allow for 2-metre social distancing. Masks were optional, with a few Councillors wearing masks, and hand sanitizer was on the table for Council to utilize.
New Mayor and
On November 9th, Leigh Bishop was elected as the new Mayor. At the meeting, the Mayor and all Council were sworn in. New to the Council table are; Gordon Baragar, Susan Hillier, Jordan Hegglin and Devon Orb. Returning Councillors are Ralph Boehmer and Robert Duke.
Health Centre Update
The new Health Centre officially opened on November 2nd. Some minor hiccups occurred, such as issues with a fax line and a hot water pump, which were both repaired. Due to the health centre’s increased size, Council acknowledged the current cleaning contract would need to be amended. The amendment will include snow removal on days when the clinic is open. The old health centre’s final date for move out is November 30th. Council discussed a few items that will need to be removed from the building before this date.
Protective Services Update
The Fire Department had a fire truck safetied through SGI, which indicated two deficiencies which Council approved for repair as per the quote.
Need to contact a Councillor?
Council will be implementing new individual email addresses for the Mayor and Council with @southey.ca addresses. The new addresses will allow for Councillors to not have to use their personal addresses and maintain a level of privacy.
Message from the Mayor
The Mayor sent a message to the community thanking everyone for their support and thanking the outgoing Mayor and Council.
In his message, he said, “There are five core principles I believe in as Mayor: Leadership, Communication, Collaboration Transparency and Fairness. Adoption of these five core principles are key to our commitment to all the residents of Southey. As leaders and representatives, we will strive as a team to help our town succeed and to inspire and unite our citizens. Communication is important for exploring differing viewpoints and to achieve our goals as a town. We have a common purpose which requires collaboration of Mayor and Council, staff, citizens, and businesses to create opportunities for success. Transparency and accountability will help enable us to meet the expectations of community members by listening to concerns and ideas. The fifth core principle is fairness. Fairness must be incorporated in all facets of how Mayor and Council deal with our staff, the community and with all our stakeholders and neighbouring communities. Words are meaningless without visible change. We are willing to accept the challenge and to work with the community to continue to build a healthy, vibrant community leading to great achievements.”
lmtimes.ca/southeymsgnov16
Meetings of Council are open to the public, due to COVID-19 Southey Administration and Council is asking that should you wish to attend please notify the office in advance so that they may find ways to accommodate your attendance either in person or by other means. The next meeting is at 7 pm on Tuesday, November 24th, at the town office and masks are required.
Jennifer Argue, Civic Reporter, LMT - Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Note: These reports are abridged for content